


wild westerns; brink

by pyrality



Series: tell me we'll never get used to it; crush [1]
Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Discussion about Timothy's trauma/fears, First Dates, First Kiss, Getting Together, M/M, mean flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-13 06:02:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13564377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyrality/pseuds/pyrality
Summary: So really, Timothy just showed up one day, and Janey spoiled him to bits, and Axton wasn’t sure if there was a polite way to ask who the scrawny twink was.





	wild westerns; brink

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mcscouty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcscouty/gifts).



> this was a gift for my best friend and i couldn't decide for the longest time whether i wanted to publish it or not  
> i know the bl fandom is relatively quiet now and this isn't as popular of a ship but i did have fun writing this fic. i have some issues w/ it, but i think overall, it's decently cohesive enough for me to post it

Of two things, Axton was absolutely certain: one, he was going to survive. And two, he was very much in love with Timothy.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
… But let’s start from the beginning.  
  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
After everything with Handsome Jack, Axton took to working at Sanctuary with the “OG Crew” as Gaige calls them: Roland, Mordecai, Lilith, and Brick. Angel comes home with them too and she took a break to recover for awhile before deciding she wanted to continue helping with mission intel. She works closely with Lilith and Roland most of the time (when she’s not being charmed by Gaige’s flirting).

Axton’s own team has scattered a little bit in the aftermath. Krieg and Salvador wanted to take a break from Sanctuary, but they're still dedicated to helping Pandora recover as a whole from Hyperion's presence. They ended up taking off to more remote areas of Pandora together in search of lingering Hyperion presence. Axton runs missions still with the remaining crew members, namely Maya, Gaige, or Zer0. Everyone is still thinking about the Vault locations revealed by the Vault Key they got off of Jack’s body, but all of that comes after they rebuild Sanctuary.

The now huge ragtag group of Vault Hunters is eventually joined by Athena and Janey, members from yet _another_ separate group of Vault Hunters. Athena’s group precedes Axton’s own, but she doesn’t like to talk about it, opting to give Axton the Death Glare whenever he brings it up. All he can gather is that Lilith is tetchy about the loyalties of Athena’s original group, but the couple has proven themselves exceptionally useful in helping Sanctuary rebuild.

Timothy, quite frankly, waltzes into his life very suddenly.

Axton was working on greasing up the Grinder for Janey. She refitted the recombiner matrix after the machine malfunctioned earlier, but had to head out before she could finish putting it back together. Axton assured her he would get the job done while she was gone. He’s just closing up the back of the machine when someone enters the store.

A tall, slender dark-skinned man with messy, fluffy brown curls paces in, footsteps quiet and restless, gait long and impatient. He has a sniper rifle hitched on his back and two machine pistols hanging off his slim hips. There’s a shotgun hitched on his lower back as well and dangling grenades on his belt loop. Green eyes, a smattering of freckles beneath them on his cheeks from what Axton can see. He’s wearing a sleek looking black gas mask over the lower half of his face.

Axton wipes his hands on a towel, standing up and warily leaning against the counter. He doesn’t have a gun on him at the moment, and this ‘customer’ looks a bit heavily armed to be any average Sanctuary citizen. “Can I help you?”

The man glances over at him, seemingly startled, like he hadn’t noticed him there. He runs a hand through his hair awkwardly, displacing some sand stuck in the loose curls. “I’m looking for Janey,” he says, voice warbled and tinny through the gas mask.

Axton opens his mouth to tell him she went out earlier with Athena, but then the couple is appearing in the doorway behind the man. He turns at the sound of them talking and when Janey sees him, she squeals in delight. Athena folds her arms across her chest, an amused smile on her face as she watches Janey practically tackle the man in a fierce hug.

Janey says about fifty things in the span of thirty seconds and Axton catches her calling him “Timmy” and “Timothy” somewhere in there.

“Sorry,” Timothy replies, awkward, seemingly having no trouble understanding her. He scratches at the back of his head, sheepish. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”

Janey keeps fussing over him, leading him off to the second floor where there are spare bedrooms. Athena excuses herself to go back out for another errand, leaving Axton alone in the shop.

So really, Timothy just showed up one day, and Janey spoiled him to bits, and Axton wasn’t sure if there was a polite way to ask who the scrawny twink was.

He manages to catch Athena alone a week after Timothy moves in. He jerks a thumb at the stairs, where the man is still living in the spare bedroom on the second floor.

“Okay, so I’m dying to know— what’s the deal with the… kink mask guy?”

Athena snorts, giving him an unimpressed, but amused look, “He won’t bite. You should ask him yourself.”

Okay. Fair enough.

Timothy does some work on his guns downstairs using Janey’s tools, and even though he’s inside, his mask is still firmly on his face. Axton supposes he shouldn’t find it so weird as he does considering he has never seen Zer0 without his helmet either. But Zer0 isn’t human, and this man clearly is beneath his half-face gas mask.

“So,” Axton tries for a casual voice as he leans against the counter, leaning his cheek into the palm of his hand as he watches Timothy work. “What’s up with the mask? You, uh, work part-time at Moxxi’s or what?” he jokes.

Timothy stops working, looking up at him, gaze utterly unimpressed. There’s a long pause before he laughs behind his mask, going back to working.

“No, I’m not a playboy bunny or something at Moxxi’s bar,” he replies dryly, amusement in his voice. He quirks an eyebrow at Axton. “What’s your story, James Blond?”

James— _James Blond_. Alright, well, it was meant to be teasing, but Axton can’t help but feel a little flustered and flattered at the nickname. He straightens up a little, clearing his throat.

“Well, I’m twenty seven now, ex-Dahl military,” He taps at the engraving on his forehead. “Was a merc for hire for a few months and then a Vault Hunter since. Not much to it.”

“Dahl military is for life,” Timothy comments.

“Sometimes you don’t see eye to eye,” Axton replies with a shrug, thinking briefly of Sarah. He looks away, “So yeah, I’m a dead man walking.”

Timothy doesn’t say anything for a long while. He clicks his gun modules back into place, catching Axton’s attention.

“Well, that’s something we have in common,” he says quiet, almost offhandedly, before he hitches his rifle onto his back and leaves.  
  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
A couple of weeks later, Timothy ends up being the only one available to be Axton’s partner for a mission. Gaige was working with Tiny Tina and Angel on a separate project, and Maya and Zer0 had yet to return from their own mission. And Axton doesn’t mix well with the original Vault Hunter crew. (Long story, embarrassing one, Lilith is unimpressed with him, the works.)

Janey insisted he would be surprised by Timothy’s skill on the field, and even Athena gave a gruff nod of affirmation.

Oh, but Axton absolutely still doubted him. But Timothy proved to be as accurate and lethal of a sniper as Zer0 and handy with every type of gun. On their first excursion together, Axton finds out the quiet brunette is sharp around the edges, deadly despite his mild-mannered demeanor.

He executes an enemy behind Axton with a snicker through voice comms, leaving the area now officially bandit free.

Axton isn’t a very meticulous looter when it comes to dead bodies, to be honest. It’s too much of a hassle and messy work, but Timothy doesn’t seem to mind one bit. The sniper crouches down next to a fresh corpse and starts rifling through pockets.

Timothy rubs the back of his hand over his cheek, smearing blood over his mask by accident. He makes a disgusted noise and rubs at the smear until it’s mostly cleaned off before humming to himself as he works on looting the corpse. Axton stares at his crouched profile for a little while before opening his mouth.

Timothy merely shrugs at Axton’s comment that he’s never heard of him before. And it’s not easy to remain under the radar in their line of work.

“It’s complicated,” Timothy replies finally, “I’m not from Pandora, so that’s probably why. I was on Elpis couple years before you, I think. And part of it has to do with Handsome Jack— Athena and I were part of the same crew. It’s messy.” He glances over his shoulder at him, eyes wrinkling at the corner like he’s smiling under his mask, “Technically, I don’t even exist.”

And it was all Timothy would say on the matter.

The evasive, mysterious answers only serve to intrigue Axton more. There must be something special about the mask, about why Timothy wears it around the clock. He never eats in front of Axton, instead taking food up to his room. Axton respects the man’s right to his secrets though, especially since Janey and Athena know him and trust him.

He and Timothy keep having matching schedules though, so they keep going out on missions together. Timothy seems to be a more passive sniper type, so he supports Axton from behind and then joins him when the coast is clear. They get jumped on one time though, by a second group of bandits bursting to catch them by surprise.

Axton tosses out his turret and Timothy hits something on his wrist and a bunch of glitched holograms appear and start attacking the bandits. They’re deformed holograms that make loud static and hissing noises as they shoot at the enemies. With the holograms and Axton’s Sabre Turret, they make quick work of the enemies. Axton collects his turrets and the holograms start deconstructing.

Timothy is silent as they disappear, seeming a little anxious. He holds up his gloved hand and it projects a small version of the glitched hologram. “I call them ghouls,” he says, stilted, “I repurposed them.”

“Okay,” Axton says easily, patting him on the back. He smiles at the startled look Timothy gives him. “Relax. All good, came in handy.” He scratches at the back of his head, looking away to give Timothy a chance to compose himself, “Let’s get to finding that machine component.”

Timothy clenches his fist before nodding, lowering his arm back down, shoulders relaxing. “Okay.”

It’s not so much Axton stops being curious, but he can tell whatever it is in Timothy’s past, it’s not something he is proud of or anything he enjoys reliving. So Axton decides not to pry. But the man starts to loosen up the more time they spend together on missions, gradually talking more and even bantering with Axton from time to time.

A bandit jumps out at them when they enter the room and Timothy smacks him in the face with the butt of his assault rifle, knocking the bandit flat on his ass. There’s a pause as Timothy stares at the bandit now unconscious on the floor in front of them with a broken nose.

“I guess you could say he walked right into that one.”

Axton stares at him. “You really just—”

“I really just did that,” Timothy snickers behind his mask, green eyes mirthful.

He steps around the unconscious body into the room, slotting his assault rifle back into its place to instead pull out a shotgun as he scours the room. Axton is close behind with his assault rifle still to cover him. Timothy fires twice into another enemy when he gets rushed. The brunette pauses.

“Take a load off,” He glances over his shoulder at Axton, “Get it? Because I just unloaded my shotgun into—”

“You’re worse than Janey,” Axton groans.

But he has to turn to hide his smile from Timothy.  
  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
“You hungry?” Timothy asks.

Axton looks up from the gun he’s working on, surprised to see the tall brunette walk into the room with a tray of food. His mask is off for once, instead hanging around his neck, and— well, Axton didn’t know _what_ he expected, but it certainly wasn’t for Timothy to be fucking _cute_.

He’s smiling shyly, dimples showing and with his mask off, Axton can see all of the freckles over his dark cheeks. He scratches at his cheek, smile turning sheepish and nervous. “Is something wrong?” he asks.

“Uh, no,” Axton says, swallowing, “You just… I’ve uh… your face. It’s… nice.”

Timothy stares at him. “I… Cool? Thanks,” he manages awkwardly, the barest hint of a flush on his dark cheeks.

Axton slaps himself internally. He probably made the man uncomfortable and the whole situation really awkward. Timothy shuffles his feet, not looking at Axton as he runs a hand through his hair. His hair is fluffy, curling against his fingers as he plays with his bangs. Axton clears his throat as he moves around the table separating them to stand in front of Timothy.

“Thanks for bringing food. You just, um, surprised me.” He takes the plate of eggs and bacon off the tray, gesturing vaguely to his face with his other hand. “I’ve never seen you without your mask.”

“Oh,” Timothy rubs at his face self-consciously. “I figured we were getting along well enough that it wouldn’t be— I made it weird, didn’t I?”

“No! You surprised me because you’re kind of a total babe— I—” Axton really hates how much he talks before thinking.

Timothy smacks his arm with one hand, looking embarrassed and flattered. “Shut up, I look like a goblin. Just take your food and go, James Blond.”

Axton grabs the fork off his plate and starts digging into his food before he can say anything else embarrassing and compromising. Timothy still looks a little flushed as he settles down in another corner of the workshop and eats quietly while he plays on his phone. He really is cute, Axton decides to himself before sitting down with his food.

“And I thought you two were getting along.”

Axton looks up to see Maya return with Zer0 behind her. Her gaze flickers to Timothy before she turns back to Axton. She pulls a gun from her hip and twirls it before tossing it at him. “This one’s for you. Classic Dahl, low recoil. Might help you with your aim.”

“That’s rude,” Axton complains as he catches the gun.

“I get stuck with him because you never seem to want to go on missions with him,” Timothy says, from his corner of the workshop. His voice is tinny again and as Axton expected, when he looks over, Timothy has tugged his mask up to cover his face again.

Maya laughs, “Is he a bad partner?”

“I’m _right here_ , guys.”

“I think he’s a great partner,” Timothy answers very seriously, his sincerity catching Axton off guard, “He does a really good job of calling out threats and backing me up. I think we synergize well.”

Maya glances at Axton, a knowing smirk to her lips before she smiles at Timothy, “It’s good you work well with him. He and I don’t coordinate well and Gaige has been busy recently.”

“I’ve never met her,” Timothy says.

Zer0 snorts and Maya chuckles, “She’s… special. I think she only cares about three people: Axton, Angel, and Lilith. She might like you though, if you’re nice to Axton.”

Before Timothy can ask her to elaborate, she’s nudging Zer0 and they slip off into the other room to go look for Roland. Axton glances over at Timothy, wonders if it’s silly he feels a little giddy and pleased by the sniper’s comments about their partnership. He clears his throat and that gets Timothy’s attention. He looks over and stop-starts, the action a little stilted when he tugs down his mask to smile a little shyly at Axton.

“You’re a good partner too, for what it’s worth,” Axton says.

Timothy laughs a little, the sound startled but pleased. “Thanks,” and then softer, “I meant it, you know. It’s nice to have a partner to back me again.”

Axton pauses, looks away and clears his throat. “You were running solo for a long time, huh?”

Timothy is silent for awhile before he sighs. “I was on Elpis for a long time… then Janey left with Athena who was my partner. I didn’t want to leave just yet. I didn’t want to come to Pandora… too much Hyperion heat.”

Axton opens his mouth to ask him to elaborate, but then Timothy is turning back to his tray of food, picking it up as he gets out of his seat.

“Sorry,” he says, and he suddenly sounds very tired, “I think I’m gonna go back to my room and rest for a little while.”  
  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
Axton’s had been surprised to see Timothy’s normal (and cute) face, because he had thought the mask was to conceal nasty scars of some sort or to hide his identity. He knew before it was something nasty in his past, but he’s getting the idea now that it has to do with Hyperion specifically. Well, he doesn’t blame Timothy. Handsome Jack was horrible and there’s no end to his shitty crimes.

Axton runs into Timothy one night after the man had evidently woken up from some nightmare. He’s sitting downstairs, a glass of water in his trembling hand while he wipes at the sweat on his forehead with his other arm.

“Timothy?”

Timothy twitches, whirling around, the glass of water in his hand spilling with the movement. His eyes are wide, frightened, and angry all at once. Axton holds his hands up placatingly, pacing slowly forward. Timothy’s eyes are unfocused, as if he sees something beyond Axton’s silhouette. He reaches up with one hand, covering the lower half of his face.

“Timothy, it’s just me. It’s Axton,” he says softly, stopping a few feet in front of him. “Just breathe, you’re right here in Janey’s shop.”

Timothy lets out a shuddering breath, finally blinking, eyes refocusing. He moves his hand from his lower face to press instead to his forehead as he shakes his head. “Sorry,” he breathes. “Didn’t sleep well. You spooked me.”

Axton tentatively steps closer, rubs a hand on the back of his shoulder. “You wanna talk about it? Need some company?”

Timothy looks up, smile strained and nervous. “You looked like him for a moment,” he says quietly.

“Who?”

“Handsome Jack.”

Oh. Axton snuffles, squeezes Timothy’s shoulder before rubbing at his nose with his other hand in mock shyness. “C’mon now, I gotta be more good looking than that, right?”

Timothy chuckles, the sound still a little hoarse. “You’re not bad. Nice jawline.”

“Thanks, I work out,” Axton teases, sitting down next to Timothy on the bench. “You’re alright?”

“I’m…” Timothy turns to look at the glass of spilled water on the table, eyes trailing after the water rivulets along the wood surface. “I’m alright.” Another long pause before he looks up at Axton, smiling tentatively, “I appreciate you being patient with me, you know.”

“That’s what partners are for, right?”

Timothy lets out a sigh of relief at the word ‘partners’, shoulders visibly relaxing beneath Axton’s grip. “Thanks for killing him.”

“Handsome Jack?”

Timothy nods, bites his lip as he picks up the glass and sets it up straight. “He deserved it.”

“Yeah, he did.”

There’s a long silence between them. Timothy’s skin is warm through his shirt under Axton’s hand, but he’s shivering just barely. There’s still a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead and his pupils are dilated. Timothy looks up at him, reaching up to place a hand over Axton’s on his shoulder. His fingers are warm, rough along the pads, calloused on his trigger finger.

“You know how he had body doubles, right?”

Axton nods, frowning a little. “Yeah. Couple of robots and stuff like that. I had to steal some of his voice samples one time.”

Timothy laughs, and the sound is sharp and bitter. He drops his hand from Axton’s, looking away again. “How much did you hate that? Sounding like him? Imagine sounding like him for over a year.” He breathes in sharp, closing his eyes. “Handsome Jack had money and I had a lot of college debt.”

Axton listens as Timothy tells him about his time on Elpis, under contract with Handsome Jack— merely Jack (or even John), a low ranking Hyperion employee at the time. He tells him about fighting the Empyrean Sentinel at the Vault of Elpis several years ago with Jack’s handpicked squad. Timothy never got along with most of them and he parted with everyone except Athena and Aurelia after the Vault. Jack became Handsome Jack, and that’s where the story passes on to Axton… where the rest is history.

But Timothy still had Handsome Jack’s face, so he had to conceal his identity with a mask while he worked to find photos of his original face and voice clips of his old voice for surgical reconstruction. It took a long time, but he eventually tracked down the necessary pictures to get his real face and identity back. His anxiety and habit of hiding his face is hard to break though.

“I had a few years to make up for lost time after getting my identity back finally,” Timothy laughs, and it sounds bitter and tired, “and who better to spend it with than the notorious Vault Hunters who killed Handsome Jack?”

Axton lets go of his shoulder to reach around and grip his other shoulder, tugging him into a half-hug. Timothy leans against his shoulder, and Axton forgets how to breathe for a little bit. His hair smells faintly of strawberries, a soft shampoo scent. He sounds tired and he leans his weight heavily against Axton, so he lets Timothy rest against him. Several minutes pass before Axton realizes the man has fallen asleep against him.

“Guess you needed to get that off your chest,” Axton says softly to himself, “Hopefully you sleep better now.”

  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
Timothy shuffles up to him tomorrow, his mask off, looking awkward. He doesn’t meet Axton’s gaze, scratching at his nose, “Sorry about last night.”

Axton flicks his forehead, grinning when Timothy looks up at him, affronted, “Hey, all partners gotta have that heart-to-heart at least once, am I right?”

Timothy relaxes his shoulders a little, smiling. He elbows Axton playfully in the side. “I guess so.”

Of course, it doesn’t resolve all of Timothy’s issues and anxiety. He still wears his mask around Sanctuary and remains guarded despite his playfulness with the other Vault Hunters. But Axton thinks it helps that more than just Janey and Athena know his story now.

The bad thing though, is that Axton finds himself increasingly charmed and attracted to the man.

Timothy leans close to look at the gun in Axton’s hands, bumping their shoulders together. His mask is off and when Axton looks over, he realizes how close they are. He can count the freckles on his face, the smattering of color over his cheeks and nose. Timothy looks over too and then they’re both frozen, inches apart, staring at each other. Timothy’s throat works in a swallow and he smiles, nervous.

“You have really cute dimples,” Axton blurts out.

Timothy’s face scrunches up in embarrassment. He shoves at Axton’s shoulder, making him stumble backwards with the force of it. He rolls his eyes and folds his arms over his chest defensively. “You’re a real flatterer, Axton. Silver tongue, goldeneye, James Blond, huh?”

“I mean it!” Axton promises, smiling, feeling a little giddy as he approaches Timothy again, hands held out, “I’m not just saying it to say it, Timmy.”

“‘Timmy',” Timothy repeats, as if unsure how he should feel about the nickname. He scowls a little, but it doesn’t look entirely convincing if Axton is being honest, “Real cute, Axton. Don’t call me that again.”

Axton grins, winking, “Alright, baby, but only because you asked nicely.”

“Don’t call me _baby_ either.” Timothy looks away, pausing before he says, “You can call me that when we’re dating.”

 _When_ we’re dating. Axton stares at Timothy, hoping for something definitive as to whether the man is flirting with him or if it’s just playful banter. But Timothy pulls his face mask up, scuffing his boots against the ground as he jerks his shoulder, urging Axton to come on. Well. Axton considers the conversation shelved or tabled for now, but definitely in need of revisiting.  
  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
“I’m starting to think you’re replacing Gaige permanently,” Maya teases. She sits down next to him with her drink, hipchecking him as she does. The siren leans her cheek into the palm of her hand with a grin.

Axton rolls his eyes, knocking his shoulder back into her. “Hi to you too, Maya. How have your missions been going?”

“Good,” Maya hums, “Met a cute girl during one of my supply runs.” She runs her finger along the rim of her cup, smiling. “You know, I like Timothy. You work well together and he’s got a good head on his shoulders.”

Axton snuffles, rubbing at his nose. “Yeah. He’s… He’s good. He’s been good.” He looks away from her, raking a hand through his hair nervously. “Listen, Maya. I don’t know how to really say this, but…”

He can spy Maya quirking an eyebrow at him from the corner of his eye.

Axton groans, covering his face with both hands before looking at her helplessly. She understands all the same. Maya folds her arms across her chest, amused.

“You always come to me for advice. But between the two of us, who’s _actually_ been in a relationship?”

“Yeah, okay, and if you’ll remember, Sarah _divorced_ me.”

Maya clicks her tongue. “I suppose that’s true.” She uncrosses her arms and folds them on top of the table instead, resting her head atop. She looks upon him patiently. “Talk to me then, Axton.”

He ruffles a hand through his hair, feeling flustered and anxious. It feels silly. He knows Maya doesn’t see it that way, but it’s hard for him to seriously talk or even think about relationships since Sarah. Half of him feels like he’s not ready for it; the other half of him wants to try again. He can only hope he’s grown in the years since his separation with Sarah.

“You like him?” Maya asks softly.

“He’s good.” Axton looks at her, smiles back when she smiles at him, encouraging, “Great sniper, nice guy.”

“What’s stopping you?”

“Maya, listen,” Axton groans, covering his face. “I’m stupid and I have so many issues.”

“No one’s perfect, Axton. I think he knows that and you like him despite all the baggage he’s got going on.” Maya rolls her eyes, but laughs a little, “Anything else you want to tell me that I already know?”

He puts his hands back down, sticking them in his jacket pockets as he looks at her. “I think I want to go out to lunch or dinner with him.”

She grins, “Then what are you waiting for?”  
  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
Axton shuffles awkwardly in Timothy’s doorway. He came here with a plan and some witty lines, and he immediately forgot all of it the moment he saw Timothy open the door. Timothy still looks sleep-ruffled, messy hair, sleepy eyes, and warm flushed cheeks. He’s looking at Axton expectantly, an expression somewhere between confused and amused on his face. He folds his arms across his chest.

“Hi, Axton, it’s eight AM, and I was already awake which is why I’m not going to yell at you for wanting to talk to me so early.”

Axton puts on his best smile which only makes Timothy quirk an eyebrow at him. “I was wondering if you wanna do something… normal.”

“‘Normal’,” Timothy repeats, amused.

“Yeah,” Axton scratches at the back of his neck, feeling a flush rise to his cheeks, “I mean. We don’t really do normal. We just go out on missions and supply runs and kill a lot of bandits and sometimes get a little tipsy off of cheap brandy.”

Timothy laughs suddenly, mouth open in a wide grin, “The last batch of brandy was really bad, you know. I think I got food poisoning or something from it.”

Axton snorts a little, looking away before looking back. Timothy’s eyes are still sleepy but they’re warmer now. He wants to count the freckles on his cheeks. “My point still stands, Tim. We haven’t done anything normal. Why don’t we just… go out to lunch sometime. Somewhere nice, some burgers, get ice cream afterwards, and maybe we can… I don’t know, play some games.”

Timothy stares at him for a long time before looking away, rubbing at his nose. “That sounds nice. Is this, a, um… date?” His gaze flicks up to Axton a little shyly.

Axton inhales sharply. “I mean— it— it can be. If you want it to be.”

Timothy shoves at him playfully, cheeks just the barest hint flushed. “Do _you_ want it to be?”

“Yeah— I— Yeah.” Axton’s throat works in a swallow, smiling nervously back at the other man. “So it’s a date?”

Timothy beams at him. “Let’s go over details later?” He rubs at an eye, still smiling. “I’m gonna wake up properly and catch you for breakfast.”

“Wait—” Axton catches his attention, heart pounding in his chest, “Um, blueberry pancakes with extra syrup and coffee with cream and two sugars, right?”

Timothy looks pleasantly surprised. “You know something? You’re sweet, Axton,” he says softly. “I won’t say no to breakfast if you’re cooking. See you in thirty, Axton.”

Timothy closes the door after waving a little goofy, giggling as he does. Axton slaps his hands on his cheeks, blowing out a breath. Okay. He can do this.  
  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
Timothy joins him for breakfast about twenty minutes later, hair much more tame, eyes a bit brighter, smile still fond and warm. He slides into a seat at the kitchen island, fiddling with his phone. He flashes a smile at Axton when he slides a plate of blueberry pancakes over along with a cup of warm coffee.

“Hey there, big guy,” Timothy says, smiling, setting his phone down to grab the coffee. “Thanks for breakfast.”

“No problem.” Axton smiles back, leaning against the island with his arms folded. “So, you, um, give any thought to what we talked about yet?”

Timothy looks up at him with a quirked eyebrow and a hint of shyness in the curve of his mouth. “Am I being grilled over breakfast?”

“I— no,” Axton laughs, feeling sheepish, “I was just—”

“I’m teasing,” Timothy placates. He taps his fork against the pancakes, looking away. “The apron is cute.”

Axton looks down, already forgetting which apron he put on this morning. It’s one with a giant cartoon cat on the front with a baker’s hat, holding a pie.

“S’pretty cute,” he agrees.

There’s a long, awkward silence as Timothy starts cutting into his pancake quietly. Axton clears his throat and claps his hands together, turning away from him.

“I should get back to cooking— I was gonna make some bacon, but you came down faster than I expected.”

“Yeah, um, Axton?” Timothy smiles at him when Axton glances back over his shoulder at him. He sets his fork and knife down. “I’ll wait. Let’s have breakfast together.”

“Oh. Okay.” Axton turns back to the kitchen, feeling a little giddy as he starts up the stove.

It doesn’t take too long to finish up the bacon. He gets out a plate for himself for the other pancakes he finished making earlier and places some bacon on the side. After he’s done dressing up his own plate, he takes the rest of the bacon plate to where Timothy is still sitting at the island, food untouched. He’s playing with his phone and looks up when Axton steps into his peripheral vision. He grins, pocketing his phone.

Axton sits down next to him, a little nervous, but he finds that conversation flows naturally and he did good— the pancakes are fluffy and soft— they’re good. Timothy is a bit more animated than usual, cheerful and bright-eyed, which is nice to see. The man seems less on edge recently and he’s started leaving his mask off more. Axton’s glad. Timothy always seemed like he was carrying too much on his shoulders, burdened with Handsome Jack’s sins, even though he deserved none of it.

Axton clears his throat, catching Timothy’s attention. He grins a little, offering his hand, palm up. “So, they always said a way into a man’s heart is through his stomach. Still, are you on for going on that date sometime?”

Timothy smiles, shy, the tips of his ears a little flushed, “Isn’t this already kind of a date?” he teases, taking Axton’s hand carefully. “I mean, it’s normal, like you wanted.”

Axton squeezes his hand gently, feeling a little flushed and giddy. “I think it’d be nice to go out to a proper restaurant for lunch or dinner. Only if you want to though.”

Timothy grins, leaning his other arm against the counter, cheek cradled in his palm, “Are there any places in Sanctuary that sell something other than skag meat?”

Axton snorts, “Well, Sanctuary’s food standards have gotten a little better—”

He’s interrupted by the sound of heavy combat boots clicking on the floor. He and Timothy both look up at the noise to see a tall blonde woman emerge from the doorway. She tilts her head and smiles, folding her arms across her chest.

“Hello, Axton.”  
  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
After a very painful few minutes in which Axton has to introduce Timothy to his ex-wife Sarah, he finds himself alone in the workshop with her. Timothy immediately left after introducing himself, flashing Axton a nervous, downcast smile as he took off upstairs. Axton fiddles with one of the tools on the table, acutely aware of Sarah’s eyes on his back.

“What brings you to town?” he asks finally, turning around with a screwdriver in his hand. It gives him something to fiddle with to keep his hands busy.

Sarah folds her arms, looking at him, gaze sharp, intense. “It’s been awhile, Sergeant.”

“You don’t have to rub it in,” Axton murmurs, acutely aware of the marking on his forehead. It aches suddenly and he resists the urge to press a hand to his head.

“I’m not,” she says, voice sharp, but her expression softens. “You look like you’re doing better.”

“I’m okay.” Axton gestures vaguely to Janey’s workshop. “I like Sanctuary. Lots of work, stuff to fix. Things to shoot, you know.”

“Good,” she says, and she means it. She smiles just barely, tilting her head. “You look happier. I like that look on you a lot more.”

Axton rubs at the back of his neck, looking away. “Thanks, I guess. I hope you’re doing alright at Dahl.” He flicks his gaze back to her for a brief moment. “And, uh, I see you got married again. Who’s the lucky guy?”

“Girl,” she corrects primly, smiling, “And she’s lovely. I’m not at Dahl anymore, either. She and I have opened up a private security company.” Her smile turns sly, almost wicked, “And you? Who’s the cute brunette?”

Axton feels his cheeks flush, “My partner. We run missions together.”

“He seems sweet,” Sarah says knowingly, “I think you’re a good fit.” After a pause, she sighs, brushing her bangs out of her hair. “Axton, I’m not here to ruin your life. I wish you’d stop looking so tense. I’m just here on business and I’d heard you were in town, so I wanted to check in.”

“Well, you already ruined my date.”

Sarah snickers, her voice a little biting but still playful when she says, “How about you take this chance to make it up to him with a _real_ date, one where you’re not just sitting around in your kitchen with a cat apron on.” She rolls her eyes, turning back to the doorway. “Another tip? Don’t call your Sabre Turret your ‘girlfriend’ in front of him.”  
  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
Axton knocks at Timothy’s door, even though it’s already opened. It’s cracked open just a sliver, and he can spy the tip of Timothy’s foot through the gap. Timothy sits up, clearing his throat before he invites him in. He leans over and pushes the door open further from where he’s sitting on his bed, a tentative smile on his lips.

“She’s pretty,” Timothy says before Axton can open his mouth. He bites his own lips a little nervously, rubbing a thumb over the page of the heavy textbook he has in his lap. “Been awhile since you’ve seen her, right?”

Axton shrugs one-shoulder, trying for nonchalance. “‘Bout five, I think.”

Timothy’s room is relatively clean. Most of the clutter is on surfaces rather than on the floor. He has a work desk strewn with books and notes and a crafting table with machine parts next to his gun rack. Axton recognizes a few of his favorite weapons hanging on the wall. His clothes are tossed over the tops of chairs and on his dresser and the room of his floor is clean. The rug is soft between Axton’s toes. He steps closer to the bed and Timothy shifts over for him to sit down next to him.

“What did she want?” Timothy asks after a long few moments of silence.

“Nothing.” Axton scratches at the back of his head. “Just wanted to say hi. She’s in town on business. At first, I was worried she was bringing Dahl’s nonsense to Sanctuary, but she doesn’t work with them anymore.”

“I see.”

There’s another long period of silence between them. Axton sniffles and presses his feet firmer against Timothy’s soft rug. He taps a finger on the smooth paper of Timothy’s textbook.

“You still study? That’s cool.”

“Don’t make fun of me,” Timothy says, a little defensive, brow furrowing. It’s cute. Axton wants to kiss his forehead.

“I’m not,” he promises solemnly, “I joined the army when I was sixteen. Wish I stayed in school sometimes.”

“Oh,” Timothy sounds apologetic. “I didn’t… Sorry, I wasn’t thinking. It’s just most people on Pandora think it’s stupid.”

“Sir Hammerlock wouldn’t.”

Timothy laughs, the sound startled, “I guess so. He’s cool, but biology isn’t really my thing.”

“What did you study?”

Timothy snuffles, rubbing at his nose. “A little bit of everything, but I’m an English major. Don’t— Don’t ask me about poetry.”

Axton grins, nudging him with an elbow. “That mean poetry isn’t your thing or that mean once you go off, you’re not going to stop talking about poetry?”

“Lord Byron is way better than Shakespeare but that’s just my opinion,” Timothy blurts out in a hurry.

Axton laughs when Timothy clears his throat and huffs. “Okay, tell me more about Lord Byron, Tim. I’ll be your student.”

There’s a pause as Timothy looks at him before turning to grab his poetry book off his shelf. “You know, you’re the only person I’d let call me that.”

Axton blinks as Timothy shoves the poetry book into his hands. “What, ‘Tim’?”

“Yeah.”

Timothy leans his shoulder against Axton’s, smile a little shy when he turns to look at Axton. He’s close like this, thigh pressing against Axton’s own, and he can smell the coconut scented shampoo Timothy uses for his hair.

“Sounds nice when you say it.”

Axton laughs a little nervously, smiling and swallowing around the knot in his throat. Timothy has long eyelashes and it does something terrible to him that at the angle they’re sitting at, he’s looking at Axton from underneath his eyelashes.

“So, we’re still on for the date?” Axton asks a little dumbly.

Timothy blinks at him before laughing, rocking against him. “Open the book to the pink sticky note, Axton,” he says instead, voice fond, resting his head on his shoulder.

“Okay,” Axton says, feeling his cheeks warm and his lips curl up in a smile.  
  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
They do end up going on a date.

Sort of.

Axton gets dinner reservations at a nice restaurant recently built in newer city near Sanctuary. It’s semi-casual which he admittedly nearly forgot about. Maya phaselocked the jeans out of his hands when she saw him and shoved him towards his rarely used more formal-leaning clothes section of his closet.

He shows up in front of Timothy’s room in a polo shirt and slacks. The shirt is a little tight on him; he hasn’t worn these since he was with Sarah. He does look nice though, which gives his confidence a little boost. Timothy answers the door in a light blue button-up and dark slacks and a shy smile.

“Hey, Tim,” Axton says softly.

Timothy punches him lightly in the shoulder, grinning, “Hi, Axton. Let’s go on a date.”

They take Timothy’s moon buggy to the restaurant. Honestly, it feels all a little silly, but in a good way, Axton thinks as they enter the restaurant hand-in-hand. They get seated and order food. Timothy is humming happily while he sips at his milkshake.

“This is a nice place, James Blond,” Timothy says around his straw with a grin. He swings his feet under the table, and they bump against Axton’s own feet. “And you look good, albeit uncomfortable.”

Axton taps Timothy’s foot back with a grin, tugging at the collar of his shirt. “Is it that obvious? I haven’t worn polo shirts in a long time.”

His breath hitches when Timothy reaches over the table, pressing a finger to his collarbone.

“Pop a button or two,” he says softly, “You really look like you’re about to suffocate in that. Don’t want my date to drop unconscious.”

“Well,” Axton pops a few buttons and admittedly, feels _a lot_ better, “you’re probably strong enough to carry me bridal style out of here if need be.”

Timothy laughs, pulling back and closing his hand around his milkshake again. “I think so.”

Axton’s half-formed a cheesy pick-up line response in his head when everything goes wrong.

The restaurant gets lit up with gunfire and there’s the sound of a grenade or two going off nearby and the next thing Axton knows, he’s on the ground, a little dazed with his ears ringing. Timothy is on the ground next to him, a hand pressed to his forehead as he blinks warily at his surroundings. All Axton knows is he and Timothy aren’t armed and that aside, he has no interest in getting involved in whatever conflict is going on.

Axton and Timothy scramble to their feet, dazed and stumbling a little as they try to make their way to the back exit of the restaurant. He gets shot in the back of the shoulder by a stray bullet and he groans as he leans against a chair and grabs his shoulder. He’s distantly aware of Timothy shouting and then next thing he knows he’s been knocked onto the ground by the butt of a rifle.

Axton blearily looks up at the armed assailant aiming a gun down at him— and Timothy looming behind the man with a metal chair gripped in his hands.

Of two things, Axton was absolutely certain: one, he was going to survive. And two, he was very much in love with Timothy.

Timothy smashes the chair into the side of the man’s head, knocking him out. He crumples to the ground, gun falling and landing with a dull thud on Axton’s shin. Timothy grabs the gun and picks Axton up off the ground.

“Keep pressure on it,” Timothy mutters to him about the bullet wound. “Do you think Janey will be mad I got my moon buggy blown up the first time I took it out?” he asks around a breathless laugh, snorting as he carries Axton out through the back entrance.

They steal a stingray in the back parking lot and Axton leans against Timothy’s back, arms wrapped around his waist as the brunette starts up the vehicle.

“M’getting blood on your button-up.”

Timothy laughs a little as they start to take off, hovering a little slower with the additional weight of two people on the stingray. “I never liked this one anyway. And I look cuter in sweatshirts.” He turns his head to glance over his shoulder at Axton, smiling, “You wanted normal. I guess this kinda thing— running and gunning, stealing people’s vehicles, getting our date ruined— is _our_ normal.”

Axton huffs a laugh into his shoulder. “Watch where you’re driving, baby.” He smiles into the back of Timothy’s neck as they continue driving through the sandy wayside, with the stars gleaming overhead in the night sky.  
  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
Axton gets his wound treated and bandaged up once they get back to Sanctuary. He showers and gets changed once Maya finishes fussing over him. He comes back to his room to find Timothy sitting by his bedroom door, flipping through a poetry book. He looks up when Axton stops in front of him, managing a tentative smile.

“You’re alright?” He closes his book, holding it in one hand as he gets up off the floor.

“Yeah.” Axton rolls his shoulder, wincing a little. “Gonna be sore for awhile.” He winks, throwing out fingerguns, “Nothing James Blond couldn’t handle—”

Timothy steps closer abruptly, and Axton can see the concern in his eyes. “You scared me,” he says quietly.

“I’m fine, Tim,” Axton promises, voice soft. “Just a scare. We go through worse stuff on our missions.”

Timothy shakes his head and before Axton can open his mouth to talk again, Timothy is leaning forward and kissing him. It's not what Axton would call "magical" or anything along that line of description like they do in books. It's _clumsy_ more than anything, breathless and too eager with noses bumping.

But it's nice, he thinks, and he can already tell he would like more of it.

He puts his hands on Timothy’s waist and Timothy curls a hand at the nape of his neck, fingers brushing through the wet curls of his still damp hair. Axton’s heart is beating too fast and he can't help but wish he'd remembered to put on chapstick after his shower when Timothy starts giggling. It's contagious, and soon the two of them are laughing quietly, foreheads still pressed together and lips too close to each other.

"Hi," Axton says, soft, half-audible over a quiet chuckle. He feels like his heart just ran a marathon.

Timothy’s squeezing at his waist and his forehead is warm against his own. "Hi," he says back. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

"Tim," Axton murmurs, voice fond and warm. He lets go of his waist to reach up to cup Timothy's cheeks.

"Thanks,” Timothy mumbles.

Axton blinks. His cheeks feel warm in Axton's calloused hands. "For what?" he asks, confused.

"For," Timothy pauses and pulls back. His skin is already flushed warm, but he feels giddy as he looks over Axton. He rubs a thumb over Timothy’s cheek encouragingly. Timothy smiles at him tentatively. "For being here." Another pause, and Timothy lets out a shuddering breath, "For choosing... this. I know I’m a complicated guy with a lot of baggage…."

Axton shakes his head, cupping his cheeks firmer as he presses his forehead to Timothy’s again. “Don’t apologize for being you, Tim.”

Timothy sucks in a sharp breath and he looks like he isn't sure what to say. He drops his hands from the back of Axton’s neck to fist his hands into Axton's shirt instead. It looks like he decided it wasn’t worth fumbling through his thoughts and overthinking things because he kisses Axton again instead.

Axton smiles into the kiss as he hugs Timothy close. Yeah. He thinks they’re gonna be alright.


End file.
